By Alison Palmer
Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 88:119

Song:“My Eternal Family” (available online at lds.org) or “Love is Spoken Here,” Children’s Songbook, 190

Preparation:Gather a deck of playing cards or other objects from your home that could be sorted (buttons, candies, mismatched socks, etc,) and a copy of The Family: A Proclamation to the World.

Lesson:
Hand the family your cards and ask them to demonstrate all the different ways the cards could be sorted. They could be placed into suits, sorted by color, or number, or placed into distinct patterns. Ask the family to consider what would happen if you simply asked them to sort your cards, but did not tell them what you wanted the completed project to look like. Though they might be able to sort the cards according to your preference, there is also a distinct chance that however they ordered the cards would not be exactly what you wanted. Or, perhaps you invite them to join you in a game, but do not tell them which game you will be playing. It is difficult to have fun and participate if you do not know the rules or what to expect.

Read D&C 88:119 together. Remind the family that this scripture had 2 messages for the early saints. First, Heavenly Father was instructing them that they needed to begin building temples so that His people could make covenants with Him. But He also told them to organize themselves as families.
He asked them to create homes of order, where His presence would be welcome, even before the temples could be built, so that they would be prepared for the challenges ahead.

Heavenly Father placed us in families as a blessing and a help that would allow us the best chances of returning to His presence in the way we would be happiest. Families are an eternal part of Heavenly Father’s plan for us, but not everyone understands what families are or should be like. Without understanding His gospel, it is easy to become confused as to what is important in a family and what our goals should be.

Choose one aspect of your day to discuss. This can be getting ready for church, leaving the house each morning for school and work, or evening events when everyone seems to be going different directions. Discuss the difference in the atmosphere of the home and family between those times when everyone has understood the goal and their personal responsibility in making that happen, verses the times when everyone has been more focused on other things and not the goal to be accomplished.

Heavenly Father wants us all to live in and achieve eternal families that are focused on Jesus Christ and His gospel. He does not hand us the deck of cards and leave us to wonder what we should do with them. He provides us with guidance and direction to help us understand how our homes and families should be organized. Part of this instruction can be found in the scripture you read together and in other scriptures.

Discuss areas of your home and family life that can show your efforts to be organized as outlined in the scripture. Ask the family to give some suggestions on where else they can look for instruction on how to have a happy family life. Be sure to bring up The Family Proclamation as a source of modern revelation that helps everyone understand what their roles and responsibilities are in a family.

Work together to locate parts of the Proclamation (particularly paragraph 7)
that identify the roles of each family member and discuss how these roles affect how well your family works together. Remind the family that they are building homes where Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will feel welcome, and that will bring you closer together as a family. Express gratitude for your understanding of how eternal families can be built and strengthened when we follow the patterns of the gospel and encourage your family to concentrate on creating more opportunities for growth and happiness through the way your home is organized.

Activity:
Younger Children- Read, then act out, Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss. Discuss the reasons Horton might have felt so strongly about his promise to be helpful and responsible and the things other characters in the book could have done to help him in his task.

Older Children- Learn to play a new game together. Start by identifying and discussing the rules to make sure everyone understands how to play before beginning. Discuss the happiness that comes from being able to spend time working together and having fun as a family.

Refreshments:
A layered or patterned dessert such as parfait.